VIFF Podcast
Bringing you exclusive in-depth conversations with industry-leading filmmakers, creators and cultural luminaries, recorded live at the Vancouver International Film Festival and year round at VIFF Centre.
~ About VIFF ~
Beyond film exhibitions, VIFF strives to engage and empower communities, encourage dialogue and champion local artists. With decades of experience and an unwavering commitment to creating exceptional programs, VIFF has transformed into a highly esteemed annual festival and a premier arthouse cinema.
Founded in 1982, the Greater Vancouver International Film Festival Society is a not-for-profit cultural society and federally registered charitable organization that operates the internationally acclaimed Vancouver International Film Festival (VIFF) and the year-round programming at VIFF Centre. All year, VIFF produces screenings, talks, conferences and events that act as a catalyst for the community to discover the creativity and craft of storytelling on screen.
VIFF Podcast
Julia Hebner on the conflicting roles women are expected to play
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In Julia Hebner's "Jeff," Marsha is a phone sex operator who takes a call from a man who confesses that he is a pedophile. Throughout the duration of the phone call, Marsha loses touch with what's real, as she gets wrapped up in Jeff's disturbing confessions.
Exploring the experience of gaslighting and existing as a woman under the male gaze, "Jeff," illuminates the inherently contradictory expectations placed on women to act as both caretakers and agents of sex for primarily male pleasure. They must be a saint and a sinner when desired, according to Hebner. As this conversation between Marsha and Jeff takes place, Hebner represents their exchange of words in stereotypical role-play scenarios, nurse and patient, teacher and student, to demonstrate this contradiction enacted by the patriarchy.
In this episode of the VIFF Podcast, we talk to Hebner about stereotypical sex worker roles, internalized misogyny, the experience of being catcalled as early as the age of 10, and why telling these stories is important.
This podcast is brought to you by the Vancouver International Film Festival.
Presented on the traditional and unceded territory of the xʷməθkʷəy̓əm (Musqueam), sḵwx̱wú7mesh (Squamish), and sel̓íl̓witulh (Tsleil-Waututh) nations.